Is it safe to eat food that contains sulfur dioxide?!
Is it safe to eat food that contains sulfur dioxide?
Is it safe to eat food that contains sulfur dioxide mainly found in preserved fruits, wine and food items during pregnancy?
Answers:
Hi ariel,
Personally in pregnancy I would recommend a diet as free of chemical and artificial pollutants as possible, particularly free of alcohol although some suggest minimal ammounts is fine.
In regard to sulfur dioxide, healthychild.com links consumption to allergic reactions and asthma. I found this for you at pregnancyweekly.com:
"Studies at Harvard University's Kresge Center for Environmental Health have shown a strong and consistent relationship between elevated indoor concentrations of oxides of nitrogen and lower respiratory tract symptoms; and suggest that exposure to sulfur dioxide, particulate matter, and acid aerosols in urban (outdoor) air is associated with bronchitis in children."
It's so hard to know for sure what additives, and in particular - chemicals are laced into our foods. S.D. is a chemical, and it makes sense that we would not want to ingest this personally, or feed it to our children, babies in the womb...
I imagine that if the substance was available in a salt shaker for example, nobody would consciously add it to their food. So why should we buy and eat food that contains it!
Often dried fruit that contains sulfur dioxide looks more "appealing" than those without. Smoother, perhaps plumper and cleaner appearing. An unnatural sort of "perfection", as in the case with organic and non-organic food. Dried apricots that do not contain sulfur dioxide are often darker and drier than those that do, but are exceedingly healthier.
The question of "safe" may also be loaded, we may not die but the effects of such substances can impact the quality of life, and I sometimes wonder and believe that they may affect our future generations health, too.
The ultimate goal is health, which I believe is best achieved through ~natural~ foods and living.
Sulfur Dioxide in the air has been linked to reduced birth rates.
Pretty yucky stuff!
It's often hard to discover the truth about these effects, especially through search engines which seem overburdened with these "official" statements, from the people who told us smoking doesn't kill (!)
I think it would help to join a natural parenting forum and ask there, too.
Good luck! I've linked my sources below.
Source(s):
http://www.pregnancyweekly.com/pregnancy...
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0...
http://www.healthychild.com/food-additiv...